I will be buying my first powerboat bowrider 23 foot without an outboard engine; i will have to purchase that separately. My question therefore is: is it better to buy a 2 stroke or 4 stroke given that i would like to buy between a 225 or 250 hspwer engine for the majority of the time wakeboarding. I do understand that wakeboarding enthusiasts recommend an inboard engine (or at least an I/O) but this will not be the case for me.

My overall concern firstly is that I understand by many viewers and reviews that 4 stroke engines do not have a fast 'shot hole' acceleration as 2 stroke engines to let wakeboarders take off from within the water. Does this still apply for newer advanced engine models (Yamaha, Suzuki, Mercury Optimax/ EFI etc).

Secondly on another note boaters mention that 2 strokes are noisier in general however does this also apply to newer engines? (as mentioned above)

Note 1: the boat i will be buying weighs (without an engine) approx 1 ton. I do not know how much weight of an engine has on the significance on the dry weight of the boat therefore affecting the trim and planing of the boat like mine. Your comments on this matter would be highly appreciated.

Note 2: I am currently living in Kuwait (Gulf Middle East). The Persian Gulf sea waters are extremely salty. If you have any tips and advise on how high salt content affects either 2 or 4 stroke engines I would welcome any comments.

Gas prices here are some of the cheapest in the world so although 2 strokes are less fuel efficient it isn't so much of a consideration over here price wise.

Looking forward to all your expertise opinions, comments and feedback.

4 strokes definitely seem to be the way things are going. The Evinrude Etec may be the one 2 stroke I would consider. It seems to be that a lot of people that replace 2 strokes with 4 strokes are doing so because 4 strokes are quieter and less smelly than the traditional 2 strokes. I am not sure the difference is nearly the same with Etec vs the newer 4 strokes. I am sure you can google etec vs yamaha/honda/suzuki and find an endless amount of comparisons. Like anything there are a lot of people on either side that make up the vocal majority. I have a feeling you would be hard pressed to go wrong with any of those 4 outboards or Mercury for that matter. I thought the big advantage of the etec was it had the better power/torque and the low weight of the old 2 strokes but in a much smoother idling and less smelly package. On a 2 stroke like the etec their wont be much in the way of maintenance but you will be adding 2 stroke oil and I think the etec stuff is pretty expensive. I don't think the Etecs have any scheduled maintenance for the first 300 hours. The Etecs have an auto fogging feature I believe which should help with internal corrosion if you are leaving the boat in salt. I am not sure if the newer 4 strokes have something similar. Honestly I think you would be happy with any of the new stuff.

Do you have certified mechanics for all the different brands around you? That would be a huge

Thank you to all of you for all your comments! I have bought a used 4 stroke engine Suzuki Df 250 V6 and am generally very happy with it! Considering it is my first experience owning, maintaining and operating a boat and engine it is a great learning curve.